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Here’s our trip video compilation. These short clips were taken with the use of iPhone 3GS and I’m very glad we were able to do it. Some of these things just can’t be captured fully enough with photos alone.

Be sure to click the “HQ” button to see it in high quality. There are also captions in English included. If they don’t come on automatically do turn them on.

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It’s been 2 weeks since we have received our custom cases from Vaja. I’ve been using classic Retro Dockable case daily and I’m at a point where I’m ready to write a form of a review for it.

Here is exactly what I ordered — Plain Vitelino leather1, “Passion” body color, “Sabbia” stripe color, kickstand2, ultra clip3. The total came out to $1114. You can also have them engrave the case with some custom text, but I didn’t get that.

I will start by saying that I’m practically in love with it and this is the best case that I have personally used, seen, or touched. If with other cases I was trying to have “as little” case as possible, this one evokes an opposite emotion. I enjoy it’s bold look and feel.

The craftsmanship is superb with perfect stitching and perfect tight fit. Leather is very pleasant to the touch. Vaja has a multitude of colors available to choose from, although their Flash “case builder” does not give a true representation of actual colors.

Functionality-wise it has its pluses and minuses. I feel that the phone is well protected, yet the switches, the speakers, microphone and dock connector are easily accessible. Camera is unobstructed. The screen cover is held down with magnets, but it can easily be flipped open with a thumb, so one hand operation is still possible.

The kickstand on the back allows the phone to be placed on the table with a screen facing you either in vertical or horizontal position, even though it does add some bulk to the case.

I’m still not 100% sold on the belt clip idea, even though I find the implementation great. I used to always wear a phone on a belt clip before the Treo. And I got used to carrying my iPhone in the pocket. The size of the phone doesn’t seem to place itself on the belt. Otherwise the connection between the case and the belt clip is very secure, yet it is possible to unlock and remove the phone with just one hand.

Inside, the case has a small plastic protector covering the area around the speaker (all sensors work without any issues), but the the area for the screen itself is just an opening, which is great — there is no reason to have additional screen protectors when there is a leather cover on top of it.

This brings me to a couple of problems. When placed in the case the screen ends up being recessed and not flush with the case face. As a result some actions that have anything to do with touching the edge of the screen became harder than they used to be. A good example of this would be moving icons from one screen to another. Although soon you learn that you can drag your finger over the edge of the case itself, but still, not as easy as without the case.

Also since the home button is covered it’s not as easy to click and you don’t really get any tactile feedback from it. There is something glued to the back of it, but it doesn’t seem to be big enough. It’s a minor issue as well.

In conclusion I want to say that this is a great case and if I had a choice, I would order it again without any hesitation. You get what you pay for and it certainly is true in this case. Get it?

Update: There is a very thorough video review available by a guy named Omar C.

Just received ours (2 of them). They are extremely tight, making it very difficult to remove iPhone 3Gs. Also the flap doesn’t seem to have much magnet strength making it flip partially open just by brushing it while walking etc. Not as sold as I was at first after reading this article. Looks like the the old Piel Frama has not been bested yet. I have had 3-4 of those from treo 650, 750, and all 3 iPhone versions, and was seeking same function with just a little bit more pizzaz. Also all four corners are exposed making them susceptible to damage. I have no affiliation with either brand, just stating my opinions.

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Daniеl says:December 27, 2009 @ 11:30

My case had the same fit in the beginning — I couldn’t remove the phone. It became much more lose with time and now it slips out a bit when I plug the cable in.

[...] used it myself treat it as such. I think it offers superior phone protection when compared to my case at least with regards to having all corners covered. The leather itself is soft and very pleasant [...]

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Today is Friday, and I’m happy that we’re young, that we live in summer-bight New York, that I have a whole weekend ahead to enjoy the company of my husband… I am simply happy.

Today was a pretty hectic day at work for me since there were multiple issues I had to address. But I have to say that even though like every human being I wait for vacations and weekends, I really do appreciate the fact of being employed at this not-so-great-economy times. For the most part I like what I do, and my co-workers (for the most part) are nice people.

We moved to the 33rd floor last Monday, and right now our whole team with the exception of the manager sits in the same big office with 3 panoramic windows overlooking Manhattan — really nice view! I’ve got to take a picture of this. My computer is strategically placed between two Italians, who constantly joke and make fun of each other — their jokes make my work days a bit brighter.

Today my hubby treated me with a dinner at a local Japanese restaurant. I know that he is not a big fan of raw fish, but he does consume sushi sometimes for my sake. We also got some hot sake, which, surprisingly, went down very smoothly. All in all — life is certainly worth living!

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Apple has just approved my first update to CheckSplit. It should be popping up in your App Store Updates tab very soon if you one are of the proud owners of CheckSplit. The update carries a number of a small updates and one major new feature:

You can now tap on the tax or tip fields to get to the tip & tax adjustment screen.

You can now label parties with text initials, in addition to colors. Just tap any colored icon while entering the check and you will be presented with a screen to enter the initials for that person or group. To clear it out simply drag the letters off the icon. These will be saved for future use as well, so you do not have to re-enter them every time.

Splash screen while loading.

Please rate CheckSplit in App Store, or update your review if you like it.

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We’re still watching Star Trek TNG, but we’ve come to a sad realization that it does get old. The cast is great, but the story is too often too naive and primitive. DS9 and Voyager are far more interesting to us at this point. (1)

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Alёna says:August 12, 2009 @ 06:47

Have to agree with Danya.

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I accidentally stumbled upon a collection of 4 comic books called Star Trek: Countdown. These are the prequel to the latest Star Trek movie and explain some of the things that happened before.They actually cover the transition from The Next Generation back to to the original crew of Kirk, Spock and the others.
And if you saw Nemesis, there are some interesting post-Nemesis revelations too.

If you don’t care for the paper version there is also a digital version available for iPhone.

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We started seeing Shublik “chilling” the weirdest position pictured above pretty often lately. Doesn’t seem like he has a spine after all. The iPhone shot above came out looking like it’s a drawing too.

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Yesterday on my way home Alёna and I experienced the real quality of AT&T network. It usually does drop a lot of calls, but yesterday was just ridiculous. I literally could not finish a single thought without getting interrupted. Haven’t been quite so frustrated with anything in a long while.

I think Apple should really end this exclusive relationship. I can’t stand the service. At the same time I’m not yet willing to give up the best phone I’ve ever had.

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Started thinking that it’s time I’ve replaced my trusty Nikon D70. It’s a great cam, but by now it’s antique. Can’t decide which one should be next — D300s or the next iteration of D700 (D700x?). Alёna opened up a new cam fund for me. October maybe?0